I Cannot Breathe Without You
by Mari2Anne
Summary: Futuristic Tale. Post Smallville. What is Clark & Chloe's final Fate?


**I Cannot Breathe Without You**

Author: Mari2Anne

**STRONG WARNING: Character deaths.**

**Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine; I do not own them or Smallville**

**Pairing: Chloe/Clark **

**Status: Completed. One shot. Futuristic Tale. PG-13. **

**This was originally inspired by and intended to be added to Dustmite's "Chlark Drabbles" thread at Kryptonsite with the prompt, Immortal. But it appears I don't comprehend the definition of drabble and the tale just became too long to add to that thread, but hopefully it stands on its own.**

**My stories are usually fluff and mushy; this is my first journey into sadness.**

**Comments are welcome; be kind if you can. Thank you for reading. **

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The year: 2193

"You have been avenged, Father. Lex is dead, his stolen immortality ended by his own hand. You can sleep in peace now with Mother. Your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will carry on your destiny. We will make you proud. The world you united and helped bring peace to will always honor your memory. Every capitol on Earth has a memorial statue of you and Mother. Other worlds remember you in similar ways. You will never be forgotten. And we have brought you here as you wished."

His cheeks were glazed with the tears he could not control each time he visited the eternal resting place he and his siblings had constructed for their beloved parents. They, their children and grandchildren were with him, each with a hand atop the crystal tombstone that bore both their names and the legacy they had created.

IN LOVING MEMORY & ETERNAL GRATITUDE

A UNITED WORLD REMEMBERS ITS SAVIORS

REST IN PEACE, BELOVED HEROES

KAL-EL/CLARK KENT OF KRYPTON1986-2191

& CHLOE SULLIVAN-KENT 1986-2189"

BELOVED SON & DAUGHTER,

BELOVED SPOUSES - PARENTS – GRANDPARENTS

And GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

Jonathan, Chloe and Clark's oldest son, recalled a world at war many years ago against the army of one man, Lex Luthor, who tried to convince the human race that the aliens were evil, almost killing Kal-El and forcing Kara into exile to avoid the same fate.

But the world was not as stupid or gullible as Lex had hoped; his evilness was quickly exposed and the whole planet sided with the super heroes who, in almost two centuries had never done them any harm; unlike Lex who could only entice people with enormous amounts of money or threaten with blackmail against whatever weakness they wished unexposed.

Lex soon lost control and was arrested, but not before he'd nearly killed both Chloe and Clark. They had managed to keep Kara safe at the Fortress after Lex had been fooled into thinking he'd finally destroyed it for good.

Unfortunately, Lex still had many accomplices and enough money to keep them loyal. And eventually they helped him escape to kidnap and murder Chloe. Unknown to Chloe and Clark, Lex had accidentally discovered the only way to end her life and his own. He had stolen her DNA, used it to clone her and to insure his own immortality. During his endless experiments one of the clones was unintentionally fatally injured.

The self-healing meteor power Chloe had was not able to survive a knife to the heart. Lex had inflicted the lethal cut personally with one of his many antique swords. Only their children were able to stop Clark from murdering Lex in revenge; he'd scoured the Earth until he'd found him and had him by the throat dangling from the highest cliff in the Grand Canyon.

"Let him go, please, Father. Mother would not approve." Jonathan's voice made him let loose of Lex's throat.

"He's yours. Banish him to the Phantom Zone or some place where I will never find him..."

And he'd dropped him off the edge of the cliff. The children and their Aunt Kara let him fall almost to the ground screaming at the top of his cowardly lungs before Jonathan nodded his okay to stop his descent. It was his sister, Lara, who stopped him at the last second before his head would have crashed first in the canyon's bottom rocks. The fear in his eyes was a balm to the hatred she nursed against this man since the death of her mother.

"You only live because she would not want us to avenge her by becoming murderers. You will spend the rest of your days in a cell Jonathan has prepared for you, fully enclosed in lead so father can never find you. Our grandchildren will be your jailers for eternity. You will never hurt another living thing…"

He lasted four years. He killed himself with a knife he'd spent two years making in secret. He'd gone mad waiting for what he believed was his inevitable destiny for failing to rid the world of the aliens: to be slowly tortured and killed by them.

The three children and their descendants met at the Fortress, the resting place of their parents as soon as they'd received proof Lex's death wasn't a rumor. The sadness as they'd watched their father fade after the death of their mother still showed in their eyes.

Clark had not been able to live without her. He had begged Jor-El for mortality and his children for understanding. "The world no longer needs me. All our off-spring will protect them from now on. Forgive me my weakness but I cannot breathe without her."

The AI had eventually relented and taken away the strength that kept him immortal.

"My son…rest now beside your beloved. You have more than fulfilled the destiny your mother and I had hoped for you. No son could make a parent more proud."

His children could not convince him to leave Chloe alone in the resting place at the Fortress. He stayed there in a dark corner, away from any sunshine until two years later his powers completely gone, his age apparent in every line in his face, the loneliness of his heart and soul crying from his eyes, as one day with his family beside him, he closed them for the last time.

_**The End**_


End file.
